North Korea tries fast food. Juche Burgers for the masses?

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There are no McDonald’s, Starbucks or KFC joints in reclusive North Korea, but there is the Samthaesong Soft Drink Restaurant, which is the North‚Äôs take on fast food complete with¬†waffles on the menu. The communist state, which has its ‚Äújuche‚ÄĚ ideal of self-reliance as a guiding principal, said the restaurant offers the finest fast food in the land made from home-grown ingredients.

Even though the restaurant will serve the masses in Pyongyang, most North Koreans outside the capital struggle to find enough to eat in a country that battles chronic food shortages.

Here is the report on the new restaurant from the North‚Äôs KCNA news agency in an article it issued on Friday:

The Samthaesong Soft Drink Restaurant located in Moranbong District, Pyongyang is crowded with Korean and foreign customers.
¬†¬†¬† It serves more than 20 kinds of dishes including burgers, waffles, French fries and crispy fried chicken along with soft drinks.
¬†¬†¬†¬† It was opened at the beginning of June last. Most of the tables are arranged by the semicircle windowed wall so that the customers can take food, looking out the street through windows.
¬†¬†¬†¬† It instantly cooks and serves dishes to the customers as they demand.
¬†Manager Ko Jong Ok told KCNA that the restaurant will make world-famous foods with local raw materials to the taste of the Korean people.

{Picture: North Korea’s Samthaesong Soft Drink Restaurant in Pyongyang shown in an undated photo released by North Korea‚Äôs official KCNA news agency August 28, 2009.)